Exam Pass Notes

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Role Boundary Basics

• Role boundaries specify what staff are trained, authorised and supported to do.
• They protect patients, staff and the practice by limiting tasks to appropriate roles.
• Confidence does not equal competence; follow local training and assessment.
• If a task falls outside your scope, competence or protocol, seek help or escalate.

Pressure and Delegation

• Delegated tasks require clear instructions, exact wording, a deadline, record-keeping and defined ownership.
• Pressure from clinicians, patients or relatives does not change boundaries or authorisations.
• Ask for clarification if an instruction is vague or feels unsafe.
• Do not guess about consent, proxy access or confidentiality; follow practice procedures.

Clinical, Results and Message Boundaries

• Clinical triage is a boundary example: non-clinical staff must not diagnose, assess urgency or advise on treatment.
• Passing on authorised wording is acceptable; interpreting a test result is not unless authorised.
• Handle medicines queries via prescriptions, pharmacists or clinicians according to local workflow.
• Use approved systems for patient messages and ensure responsibility for follow-up is clear.

Personal, Digital and Emotional Boundaries

• Do not grant special access to friends, family or familiar patients.
• Do not use personal phones or social media for patient health requests.
• Only access records for legitimate work reasons and log activity as required.
• Use supervision, debriefing and escalation when emotional pressure or repeated contact blurs boundaries.